Georgia Dodson

A Forest Floor

I invite close observation through detailed depictions of hidden and unnoticed ‘floors’ of forest landscapes, exploring current ecological concerns with an art-historical perspective.

My paintings reference seventeenth century Netherlandish ‘Forest Floor’ and sottobosco paintings, building complex layered glazes of attentive, experimental brushwork to suggest depth and texture. Responding to current concerns of human detachment from nature, I hope to re-engage the viewer with the natural world, implementing the painting techniques of ‘Forest Floor’ painters such as Otto Marseus van Schrieck (1619-1678).

The composition, small size and low viewpoint of the work, within a large exhibition space, assist the illusion of an otherworldly landscape. Interruption of miniature forms communicate an extensive cohesion and sense of a complete eco-system representing the Forest Floor’s ‘Immense Disorder’ (Baker, 2011).

I use traditional materials associated with Northern-European painting, making (unframed) copper and hardwood panels that draw visual connections between the different states of organic matter (real, seasoned wood alongside the rotten wood depicted.) The coppers’ warm glow and reflection of natural light is visible through the thin glazes of oil paint, illuminating areas of the darkened scene, like that of dappled sunlight.